Calm in the Storm
by necris14
Summary: When a hurricane hits Cyllage City, Ash and Serena end up taking shelter in a cave...short little Amourshipping one-shot. Also I am bad at summaries!


_Hey guys! It's been a while since I've put anything on here! _

_As I've been watching Pokemon XY, I have to admit that I've become a pretty big Amourshipper. Which is deeply troubling to me, because I've never really shipped anything in Pokemon besides Advanceshipping...not, like, really seriously, anyway. I expected to hate Serena, actually, before the series started, but man if she and Ash aren't just the cutest thing together._

_Anyway, that just goes to say that I have a new ship to write about now. I really want to write a big one like my old stuff, but I honestly don't think the XY saga has gone on long enough yet for me to really pull out a huge story from it. Maybe in a few months/a year or so...?_

_Bah, I've rambled long enough. This is just a short little oneshot Amourshipping thing I put together because I had to write **something **about these two. Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

A cold, chilly wind blew across the damp, stormy sky that covered Cyllage City, ruffling the fur of the lone Absol that stood atop the cliffs bordering the eastern edge of the province. Where most other Pokemon had already taken shelter from the elements, Absol alone remained outside, watching as events unfolded down in the city.

"Come on, Serena! This way!" Ash Ketchum cried out to his companion, who was right on his heels as they rounded yet another corner.

"Don't talk, just run!" Serena shot back frantically. She spared a glance over her shoulder and instantly regretted it; the wall of water was still spilling out toward them, and it only seemed to be gaining speed. The sheets of rain pouring down didn't do much to encourage her, either.

"Piika!" Ash's Pikachu added in desperation, from its ever-present perch on Ash's shoulder.

"Where are we even going?!" Serena demanded, instantly violating her previous request.

"Those caves at the edge of town, remember?!" Ash answered, pointing ahead of them to the low mountains that housed numerous small caves, and apparently, the town's Gym, as well.

They emerged from the mass of narrow streets a few moments later into a mostly empty suburban area, with the path up the mountain starting at the far end of it all. The two continued running, and were granted a few moments of respite before the wall of water spilled out of the street behind them and began surging across the small flood plain.

They had almost made it to the trail leading up the cliffside when Serena's foot slammed into a rock that served as part of the transitioning terrain as they drew closer to the mountain. "Ah - !" She tripped, sending her careening face-first into the ground, her pink hat spiraling off her head as well.

"Serena!" Ash cried, turning on a dime just as Pikachu leapt off his shoulder.

She struggled to climb back to her feet, but as she did, she couldn't help but turn and spare another glance behind her. She was met with the sight of the remains of the tidal wave still surging toward her, submerging everything in its path. Just then, something inside of her faltered, and she lost the will to move, it being replaced by a cold and encroaching sense of fear.

"Serena! Come on!" Ash's voice called, snapping her back to reality. She turned and saw him reaching out his hand to her. When she looked into his eyes, she seemed somehow re-energized, a slight feeling of warmth returning to ward off the cold. And just then, she was instantly reminded of the day they had first met, and how he'd looked when he held out his hand to her back then, as well.

She took his hand.

He pulled her up from the ground, neither of them breaking their visual lock with the other. It was a strange feeling, and it was one that even Ash seemed to understand, if only a little bit. Their stare seemed to last forever, and in that moment it seemed as if the storm going on around them was no longer important.

But just then, a flash of lightning and the accompanying peal of thunder half a second later pulled them out of their bubble, and Ash realized just how close that wall of water behind them really was.

"Come on! We've gotta hurry!" Ash urged, tugging on Serena's hand as he turned back and continued running. Pikachu joined him on all fours, the rim of Serena's hat lodged firmly between his jaws as the three of them trudged up the side of the mountain, searching for a refuge from the storm.

It didn't take them after that to get to a safe altitude from the waves that had now flooded most of the city. Even then, the rain was still pouring down without any signs of stopping, and so they continued on and found a small cave along the incline, deciding to hunker down in there until the storm calmed down.

* * *

"Oh, man…that was way too close." Ash grunted a few minutes later, after they'd had time to settle down and catch their breath. Pikachu, after returning Serena's hat to her, promptly plopped down on the cave floor and fell asleep, leaving Ash and Serena to sit side-by-side with their backs against the cave wall.

"You can say that again…" Serena agreed. "I hope Clemont and Bonnie are okay, though…"

The other two members of their group had been with Ash, searching for information on the town's Gym, when the hurricane had initially hit the outskirts of the city, near the ocean. Serena, who had been off on her own shopping in the city, hadn't been alerted as they had, and so when Clemont and Bonnie went to make their way to the shelter, Ash decided to head back and find her. Before being swiftly cut off from returning to the shelter by the tidal wave, of course.

"Yeah…I'm sure they're fine. They're the ones who got into the shelter, after all."

"…Yeah, you're right."

Another minute or two passed in silence, with nothing but the consistent pattering of the rain outside and Pikachu's occasional grunts to keep them occupied.

Ash happened to glance over to the side, however, and noticed Serena gently massaging something on the palm of her left hand. "Huh…? What's wrong?"

"Oh…nothing." Serena answered nonchalantly, trying to deflect the attention away from her injury. "I just…skinned my hand when I fell back there."

She reluctantly opened her hand and allowed Ash to see: a small, bloodied cut on the inside of her palm. It appeared to still be bleeding.

"Oh, man, that looks bad!" Ash exclaimed worriedly, trying to think of a way to help. "Mm…Hey! I know!"

"Um…?" Serena said, not understanding what he meant. She watched him blankly as he rummaged through his pack beside him, and it wasn't until he pulled out a very specific 'bandage' that she understood what he meant.

Ash grinned at her knowingly and held up the handkerchief. It was mostly white, with a blue stripe cutting across the entire length of it at the bottom, and had a small Poke Ball emblazoned in the bottom corner. "Here."

"Ash…" She breathed, unable to say much else as he took her hand and began wrapping the makeshift bandage around her wound. Once again, she was reminded of that warm summer afternoon long ago, when the two of them had met for the first time.

They had both been at a summer camp hosted by Professor Oak, and she had ended up getting lost in the woods one day. She hadn't really been that interested in Pokemon yet, and had argued with her mother over her even going to the camp, but in the end she had been forced to. As it happened, she ended up getting startled by a Poliwag and falling, skinning her knee in the process.

She began crying after her fall, but then Ash showed up. He bandaged her wound with his handkerchief, pretended to cast a spell to make the pain go away, and escorted her by the hand back to their campsite.

She never saw him again after that day at camp. That is, until he came to Kalos and appeared on her television set, fighting to control an out-of-control Garchomp. Now, here he was again, years later, still trying to mend her wounds with his little Poke Ball handkerchief.

"…You know, Ash…" Serena began slowly, acutely aware of his skin touching hers as he continued tying the cloth around her hand. "There's this thing I've been wanting to tell you…"

"Yeah? What is it?" Ash responded, not taking his eyes off her hand.

"Well…I think you're amazing, Ash." Serena said, sort of blurting it out without really meaning to.

"What?" Ash said, stopping his work on her bandage and looking up at her.

"Um! I mean…! You're just - !" She replied rapid-fire, hastily attempting to cover up her words. After a moment, though, she merely sighed and continued. "…You're so good with Pokemon. When it comes to things like that, I guess I've always tried to take the easy way out. But with you…you don't give up so easily."

"Serena…" Ash replied, not really sure of what else to say.

She grasped his hand, which had still been lazily hanging over the unfinished bandage. "And it's not just that…you'd do anything for your Pokemon. They're like a part of your family or something." She thought of her mother's Rhyhorn back home, and then of how Ash had leaped from the top of Prism Tower to save Pikachu when it was falling. "I guess…when I look at you, I see who I've always imagined I should be…but I'm not." She looked away from him. She had started out trying to tell him how she felt about him, but somehow it had instead turned into her feeling sorry for herself.

"That's not true." Ash uttered suddenly, causing her to look up at him in surprise. "Don't you remember what happened back at the Santalune Gym? You were the one saying stuff to me. And what about when you taught me how to ride a Rhyhorn?"

She blinked, taking in what he had just said. "So…"

Ash nodded encouragingly. "Yeah. You're just as amazing as I am, Serena!" He grinned at her for a moment before realizing what he had just said. "No, wait, I mean…"

She watched him stumble around his words for a moment before smiling and squeezing his hand tighter. "Thank you."

Ash froze, meeting her intense gaze with uncertainty. He was made acutely aware for the first time of how close they were sitting to one another, and also of how warm and inviting her hand felt against his. He had never really been in a situation like this before, and wasn't sure of how exactly to react.

Serena held his gaze for a moment longer before leaning forward. She noticed a dark blush appear across his face, and imagined that she must be wearing one as well, though that didn't dissuade her. She closed her eyes and lightly pressed her mouth against his.

The kiss hung for a short while before Serena pulled back slightly. The two watched each other for a moment longer before Serena finally scooted over until there was no space left between them, and she laid her head down on his shoulder.

Ash merely sat there, frozen, still attempting to process everything that had just happened. After what seemed like an eternity, he looked down at her next to him, and he found that he couldn't help but smile. He slowly reached up and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her ever so closer against him in the process.

Outside their little cave, the storm raged on, unbidden. However, the Absol had decided to leave mere moments before, and from its now-empty perch looking out across the coastline, a small pocket of sunlight slowly became visible in the midst of it all.

* * *

_I should probably mention that I'm generally not a big fan of writing oneshot things. I usually like to have everything make sense in the grand scheme of continuity, which is why, I think, I tend to stick close to the anime for their personalities and dialogue and things. It just bugs my OCD if I **don't** do that...which is why I really want to wait until the XY anime has gone on longer before I write anything huge with Serena and the anime version of Kalos._

_But, even so, I hope I managed to put together something enjoyable for you guys out there who love this new ship as much as I do! Please R&R! _


End file.
